Are HDMI-to-HDMI Connections Possible?

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1

Is it possible for me to connect the Beagleboard to my TV using an HDMI-to-HDMI cable connection? Or am I limited to HDMI-to-DVI?

Thanks

Bob Cochran

2

DVI-D is a subset of HDMI. We use the HDMI connector for size and cost reasons. You can connect it direct to your TV and it will work, as long as you have the correct timings and settings for your TV. There will be no audio over the HDMI interface.

Gerald

3

Robert L Cochran napsal(a):

Is it possible for me to connect the Beagleboard to my TV using an HDMI-to-HDMI cable connection? Or am I limited to HDMI-to-DVI?

I have Beagleboard connected to my Benq 22" LCD monitor with HDMI input and it works. But it doesn't contain the audio. So the TV will be mute and you need to connect the audio out jack to usual audio amplifier if you want to hear some sound.

Omikron

4

DVI-D is a subset of HDMI. We use the HDMI connector for

    > size and cost reasons. You can connect it direct to your TV
    > and it will work, as long as you have the correct timings
    > and settings for your TV. There will be no audio over the
    > HDMI interface.

Is this a limitation of the HDMI encoder used, or of the board layout,
or?

I'm asking mostly because I want to understand if I fab my own board, if
I have to do some redesign to include audio. (It's not important enough
to switch chips...)

5

Well, in order to add in the audio and the HDCP encrrytion, you need to use a HDMI encoder chip. Typically, you have to sign an NDA with a company to get access to it and be someone who will use lots of these devices in your products. Not exactly open source friendly is it. That is why we went with the TFP410.

Gerald

6

Gerald Coley wrote:

Well, in order to add in the audio and the HDCP encrrytion, you need to use a HDMI encoder chip. Typically, you have to sign an NDA with a company to get access to it and be someone who will use lots of these devices in your products. Not exactly open source friendly is it. That is why we went with the TFP410.

  There are distributors who'll sell you small numbers of HDMI encoder
chips, under NDA. However, if you want to sell products including HDMI
you need to join the HDMI consortium, go through validation, and
pay them their $5k/year.

  Non-HDCP variants exist and attract smaller royalties and not being
forced to sign up to the HDCP people's consortium.

  You can of course elect not to pay them, but they can then elect to
knock on your door and ask why, with big scary lawyers in tow...

  You can't make the datasheets public, but there is no reason you
shouldn't open-source the drivers: there are plenty of (e.g.) Silicon
Image HDMI drivers already in things like Linux-DVB.

R
(and, FWIW, the HDMI drivers work just fine with the Beagle)

7

Well, in order to add in the audio and the HDCP encrrytion,

    > you need to use a HDMI encoder chip. Typically, you have to
    > sign an NDA with a company to get access to it and be
    > someone who will use lots of these devices in your
    > products. Not exactly open source friendly is it. That is
    > why we went with the TFP410.

Okay, figured it was the chip itself, and yeah, I didn't want to get
into that NDA on HDMI. I really like HDMI's featureset... but had
resolved never to touch that NDA for open source reasons.

Thanks for using the TFP410. For me, having an extra audio cable is not
a big deal.